They say you should strike while the iron’s hot, which may well be why two of Hollywood’s most in-demand men, the Oscar-nominated Bradley Cooper and Star Warsdirector J.J. Abrams, are reportedly in talks to film a biopic about Lance Armstrong.

Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot (Abrams’ production company) had already secured the rights to Cycle of Lies: The Fall of Lance Armstrong, a forthcoming book by the New York Times’ Juliet Macur, which stems from Armstrong publicly admitting to using banned drugs and blood doping during his seven Tour de France wins.

When asked about the rumor at this past weekend’s Producers Guild Awards (PGA), Abrams told Entertainment Tonight that “[Cooper] sent me an email and we’ve been talking.”

The 38-year-old Cooper, who just received his first Oscar nomination for Silver Linings Playbook, has already spoken about his interest in the topical subject matter. He recently told the BBC he’d “love” to play Armstrong, who he considers “a fascinating character.” But it appears Cooper isn’t the only actor with a curiosity towards the disgraced cyclist, as the likes of Matt Damon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Fassbender and Christian Bale have all been named in relation to the role.

“I remember Matt Damon was going to do his autobiography at one point years ago,” Cooper told the British broadcaster. “I remember thinking, that would be a great character, I’d love to play that character. I would love to do something, I think he’s pretty fascinating.”

But when Cooper was asked for a comment by Access Hollywood at Sunday’s Screen Actor’s Guild (SAG) awards, he laughed it off. “Oh my God, that’s so nuts!” he said before explaining that “I didn’t even know that J.J. has the rights, I had no idea. I don’t know anything about it.”